make me a different person: a spiderverse x p1h fic

scene 3

"Stupid, stupid, stupid." You patted down the entirety of your backpack and quickly realized your chip wasn't in there. It was like an inhaler for your "episodes", and every time you got too confident in yourself, you let it go missing. And right now wasn't a good time for it to be.

A shudder passed through your body, and your jaw clenched so hard, you thought you might crack a tooth. You glanced at the juniors, and knew immediately that this would be bad. You just had to leave--

"So, Y/N, I hear you got a perfect score on the science homework," Julie started with a smirk. "Oh, wait, you didn't even turn it in. Thanks, by the way, for lending it to me."

She sat on your desk, and you immediately stood up, accidentally pushing your notebook off the desk. The juniors gasped. All you could feel was your blood rushing in your ears. She scoffed, and her friends stepped closer to you.

"It's not like you needed it. Are you going somewhere?"

You tried to take a slow, calm breath, but it sounded angry.

"Got--to--go," you managed, before shoving past a couple of them. They reached out to grab you, but recoiled from your skin. Your arms were rock hard--not because of any muscles, but because of the episode that was beginning. You had to get out of there, before you exploded.

You pushed open the door in a hurry, revealing a shocked Mr. Kang and a stack of papers going everywhere. You couldn't even squeak an apology, and instead tears began to stream down your cheeks as you ran.

"Julie? We need to talk," you heard him say, and then you rounded a corner and slammed into the fire retardant box on the wall.

Its door went flying, and you didn't even bat an eye until you reached the restroom and could splash your face with cold water. You couldn't even feel it, which was a really bad sign. But you kept doing it, hoping that it would reverse the effects. When you started feeling the chill, you stopped, and ripped a paper towel from the dispenser to dry off. You hadn't even noticed the water had splashed all over your front side until then.

"Great." You grabbed another paper towel and tried to pat off the wet splotches on your shirt, but it didn't help. You caught yourself in the mirror and laughed. You were a sight to behold, for sure.

Your eyebags were the biggest thing on your face. Your eyebrows were drawn in a permanent scowl. Worst of all, you could still see the uncontrollable fear of yourself in your eyes. You were disgusting--horrible. You could imagine the headline: "UNDERCOVER FREAK OF NATURE INFILTRATED HIGH SCHOOL." Thanks to Julie and her gang, you were always on edge, wondering which day would be your last at this school. Sometimes you resented her for the fear. Today you found yourself wishing she had won this time. Maybe then you wouldn't have to hide. Maybe then someone would hear you out.

Maybe then you'd get help.

But as you stared into your own soul, you knew there would always be something wrong. You couldn't be fixed. A monster that hid under its own bed was better than a monster running free.

There was a knock at the door, and your head flung toward the sound. "Y/N? It's Mr. Kang."

Your voice stuck in your throat. Glancing down to your wrist, the dial seemed to be cooling down. You shuffled your feet to the door, opening it shakily.

When he saw you, he sighed in relief. "I'm glad you're okay. I had my suspicions about Julie and her friends, but I didn't know they had a problem with you."

All you could do was nod.

He pursed his lips. "Let's go talk to the principal."

You followed him, the sound of shoes on the floor echoing in your ears, but all the while you wondered how you weren't spotted yet. How did he not realize you were the freak? If anyone deserved to be bullied, it was you.

"No one deserves to be bullied, Y/N," he said suddenly. You blinked, and he chuckled. "That must be why you stayed quiet about it, right? Well, you're wrong. You are a great student and a good person."

"Thanks, Mr. Kang." There was really nothing else to say.

"So, you're being bullied? Homework stolen, a couple of sharp words, and you've been physically hurt before?"

"Yes, sir." You looked down at your hands, tugging your sleeve further over your wrist. Mr. Kang had gotten you a dress code sweatshirt to replace your soaked one. It gave you little comfort when speaking to the principal like this.

"I'm thankful for the report." The principal cleared his throat, and finished typing. "However, Y/N, I can't let your own behavior slide. Not fully."

You snapped your eyes upward, suddenly feeling a tingling in your body. You struggled through a calming breath, but your eyes clouded up anyway. "Sir?"

It's fine, it's fine.

"You broke school property today. The fire retardant case is completely smashed on the floor. I'm afraid you'll have to pay if off. Since you're a great student and I don't totally blame you, only worry about two hundred bucks of it."

You released a shaky breath, nodded, and reminded yourself that they really couldn't know anything was different about you. Hardly anything really went wrong, and accidents happen. You could pay this off, and then no one would have to pry further. If only you had the money.